2013 Kia Sportage SX 4-Door Crossover Review – Over the Mountains & Through the Woods

We’re regretting that we bought a Honda CR-V last year. Well, more so my husband, Frans, than me. It’s all the fault of the 2013 Kia Sportage SX we drove for a week and the fantastic way it performed on our drive up to Lake Tahoe earlier this month.

Lake Tahoe is about four hours away from us and I was worried about taking a different car on that long trip. What if our stuff didn’t fit? What if the seats were uncomfortable and all of us got muscle pain? What if the car couldn’t survive the trek up to 6,000 feet above sea level? What if the ride was extremely bumpy or loud? How much extra would it cost us in gas?

2013 Kia Sportage SX Review

I had so many thoughts swirling around in my head and it didn’t help that I couldn’t test it much before I left on a business trip. Frans was supposed to do all the packing and to pick me up at the airport that was on the way. I was prepared for the worst. Instead, my usually mellow husband was raving about how much he liked the Sportage! I thought, ‘Seriously?!’

It was the power of the 2.0L Turbo that mainly won him over. Climbing hills was effortless and acceleration was seamless. Handling was light as the crossover hugged the mountainous curves. Even after several hours, my husband didn’t get sore since he could adjust the driver seat in more ways than I thought was possible. It even had an air-cooled seat. Using this was so much better than getting all sweaty and sticking to the seat but it was a strange feeling as well. We also noticed how nicely the interior was finished – clean, simple lines.

The gas mileage was great and we only had to fill the tank half-way to get home. It was only Munchkin in the back so we really couldn’t compare how much seat room there was. In the back, under a cover, were several compartments. I imagine these help a lot to prevent items from rolling or sliding around but I would have preferred to have more open, usable space. At least all of our luggage fit. Having the backup camera came in handy and being able to push a button to fold the side-mirrors was a nice feature. Where was the blind spot monitoring I was so hoping for though?

I was really impressed by the navigation system. I’m not sure which they used but it sure saved us from being lost thanks to Waze. The bluetooth would only let us sync one phone so we were stuck listening to the radio. Frans had already synced the system to his phone, which didn’t have much of our music downloaded to it. The nice thing was that the bluetooth handsfree was super clear! The panoramic sunroof was neat in theory but was generally too sunny, hot, or overcast to enjoy it. In Tahoe, it was awesome for viewing the crazy-looking but completely astounding cloud formations we saw.

Since the Sportage was returned, life in our own crossover just hasn’t been the same. Every time my husband in the CR-V, he reminisces about how the Kia Sportage had more torque and handled better. Even without the turbo it had easy steering, a smooth ride, and was comfortable for all of us. For me, I was digging the dual-zone auto temp control – aaahhhh! We actually test drove the the 2012 model last year but the window profile had a weird slant that went up in the back, making it so that my daughter couldn’t even see out the window. There’s nothing worse than a bored kid that can’t even look outside… I’m so glad they fixed that for the 2013 release.

The 2013 Kia Sportage is a great family car if you need a bit more room but aren’t quite ready for another row of seats. I guess we know what model will be at the top of our list the next time we go car shopping!

For more reviews & car-related tips, visit my automotive site for women & families, DrivingMamas.com.